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A new cookbook from the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust weaves together recipes, stories, and the people behind the catch.
The Sea Table is more than just a cookbook. Created by the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust (MVFPT), the book is as much a love letter to the Island’s fishing culture as it is a guide to preparing its local bounty. Featuring 75 recipes and portraits of 21 Island fishermen, The Sea Table is both a cookbook and a community story — one that aims to preserve a way of life and support the working waterfront that still helps define the Vineyard.
The project was funded by the Environmental Economic Innovation and Resiliency in Marine Fisheries grant program, administered by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game and the Division of Marine Fisheries. Every purchase of the book supports MVFPT’s mission to keep the Island’s small-boat fishing fleet viable. The nonprofit’s work goes far beyond advocacy: It offers access to hard-to-afford permits and quota, maintains critical working waterfront infrastructure, donates seafood to Islanders, and operates the Martha’s Vineyard Seafood Collaborative — a market and processing hub on the Menemsha docks. All of this helps ensure that the next generation of fishermen can keep doing what they do best: bringing sustainable, fresh seafood to shore.
The MVFPT, led by executive director Shelley Edmundson (see our story on her and MVFPT president John Keene on page 60), carefully coordinated and collected the photographs, essays, fishermen interviews, and species data for the book. Meg Higgins, the MVFPT’s director of operations, was a key member of the team, according to Shelley. Catherine Walthers, a frequent contributor to Bluedot Living, and the author of several cookbooks, lends her culinary know-how to the project. While she contributed about a third of the recipes herself, the rest were sourced from the Vineyard’s food-loving community: private chefs, caterers, restaurant cooks, farmers, fishermen, residents, and home cooks. The result is a mix of dishes that range from simple baked fluke with cherry tomatoes to complex preparations like grilled striped bass over basil polenta with succotash and beurre blanc.
What ties them together is a shared ingredient: local fish. The book showcases 19 species commonly harvested in Vineyard waters, including fluke, black sea bass, scup, bonito, squid, lobster, oysters, and bay scallops. Catherine structures the book around these local catch species, offering not just recipes but also information on when and how the seafood is harvested and tips for preparation. Readers will learn how to grill bluefish on a cedar plank, broil oysters with chili butter, or tautog with pickled vegetables. There are techniques for crudo, ceviche, and poke.
Photography plays a key role, too. The stunning portraits by Brooke Bartletta introduce readers to the fishermen who fuel this local food economy, while Randi Baird’s vibrant food photography brings each dish to life. These images reinforce the book’s central idea: the food tastes better when you know where it comes from, and who caught it.
Catherine Walthers’ personal journey with seafood echoes the book’s deeper message about connection. Growing up landlocked and wary of fish, she came to appreciate its flavor, freshness, and culture after moving to the Island in her 30s. Over the years, she’s reported on Vineyard fishermen (see her story for Bluedot on wild-caught fish), tried her hand at derby fishing, and slowly became someone who cooks squid, scup, and sea bass with joy and ease. That arc of learning, experimenting, and cooking, runs throughout the book, encouraging readers to build confidence in the kitchen and curiosity at the fish counter.
The Sea Table tells the story of a place through the people who fish it, the recipes they make, and the community that sustains it. It’s also a reminder that food is a way to connect, celebrate, and protect the waters and traditions that nourish us. It will be available in August and copies can be purchased at the West Tisbury Farmers Market and in many Island shops and farmstands. The book was designed by Ben and Lainey Scott of Bluerock Designs.
Find more book info here.
Among the people featured in the book are fishermen — including Billy Sweeney, Walter Greene, and Stanley Larsen (pictured below) — who share a window into their life on the water. Sweeney, who harvests clams and quahogs out of Lagoon Pond, talks about how harvesting quahogs “is all about the feel.” He offers a handwritten “clamgilli” recipe. Walter Greene fishes out of Tisbury Great Pond and reflects on the rewards of the job: “We get to see the majority of sunrises,” he says. “That reward is almost greater than the money — to be able to be out there and see the ocean and see the sunrises and get to work alongside really great people.”
Stanley Larsen, who owns Menemsha Fish Market and has fished for blue mussels, bay scallops, swordfish, cod, and other groundfish out of Menemsha, describes his life as a fisherman:
“I’m 67 years old. I started going out with my father in my early ages. I think the first time I went swordfishing I was nine years old. I went out with him for three weeks. It was in the summertime, so the weather wasn't too bad, but everybody helped take care of me. I remember they made me a slingshot, and they had dried peas, which they cooked at the time. That's what I used for ammo. I can remember the guy sitting up on the mast and some of the other guys telling me to shoot him with the slingshot, keep him awake. We would go long-lining and then haul the long-line gear back, and we'd go harpooning in the afternoons. My grandfather was from Oslo, Norway, and was a commercial fisherman there. He came to New York. There was a fleet of boats that would go up and down the coast, mainly chasing cod. Cod was a big staple back in the day. It salted so well and it was easy to catch. For some reason, the boats went into Menemsha and he ended up settling here. And my father, of course, grew up fishing. He was a dragger fisherman with his brothers. My father and his brothers pretty much pioneered the long-line swordfish fishery on the East Coast of the United States.
“What keeps me going is — I know it’s kind of crazy — but I really want to live forever and I just love being here.”
RECIPE: Oysters with Jenny’s Cilantro Lime Mignonette
Description
A mignonette sauce is typically made from vinegar, shallots, and black pepper, and spooned onto oysters and clams on the half shell. Mignonettes add a bit of sharpness to the briny, creamy oysters. Jenny Appleton, who visits the Vineyard each summer from California, adapted the signature oyster topping from California’s Hog Island Oyster Company on Tomales Bay. It has a wonderful flavor from the rice vinegar—more mellow than most red wine vinegars. Seasoned rice vinegar contains a bit of sugar and salt and balances with the unseasoned vinegar here in this adaptation. Jenny sometimes makes it spicy, adding a small amount of chopped jalapeño.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 dozen oysters
For the Mignonette
- 2 Tbsps finely minced shallot (1 small shallot)
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsps freshly squeezed lime juice (from 1 or 2 limes)
- 2 to 3 Tbsps chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/4 tsp. minced jalapeño (optional)
Instructions
- Mix the shallot, the 2 rice vinegars, lime juice, and cilantro together in a small bowl. Set aside while you open the oysters. If you prep the mignonette early in the day, keep the cilantro on the side to preserve its bright color.
- Serve the mignonette with a small spoon and let each person add their own, approximately ¼ to ½ teaspoon per oyster.
RECIPE: Scup Fillets with Lemon, Capers, and Chili Crunch
Description
This scup recipe is a snap to pull together, as I did one evening returning from fishing at around 8 p.m. Scup fillets are generally small, so plan for two per person. Before cooking, try to remove any bones you feel with your fingers or fish tweezers. Don't be afraid to fillet a whole scup yourself; these days watching one video may be all you need, along with a sharp knife. Scup is so mild, sweet, and delicious, it may become one of your favorites.
Ingredients
- 4 scup fillets
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 to 3 Tbsps all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsps extra-virgin olive oil (divided)
- 1 cup spring snap peas, strings removed (or whatever green is in season, such as spinach, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, etc.)
For the Chili Crunch Caper Sauce
- 2 Tbsps butter
- 1 small garlic clove, cut into thin slices
- 2 tsps capers
- 2 tsps freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 tsp chili crunch condiment, such as Momofuku Chili Crunch
Instructions
- Remove excess moisture from scup skin with a paper towel. Season the fish with salt and pepper and dip each side in the flour. Set aside.
- Heat a cast iron pan or thick skillet and add a teaspoon of oil. Add the snap peas and sauté for a few minutes until bright green. Place on dinner plates. Add the additional 5 teaspoons of oil and the pieces of fish. At the start of cooking, press on each fillet with a spatula in each hand to reduce the cupping (curling) and to help keep the fish as flat as possible so it cooks evenly. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes until the fish is nearly cooked. Flip and cook for an additional 1 minute.
- Remove the fillets to the plates. Add the butter, garlic, and capers to the pan, and sauté for a minute or two until the garlic sizzles and cooks without browning. Add the lemon juice and chili crisp and swirl until incorporated. Pour over the fish and snap peas.
